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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Head Scratcher

Here's a funny (ok, not so funny, actually just sad) example of how out of whack our society has become.

Two young men left a campfire burning and caused the largest fire in Arizona history. They face prosecution on three counts for causing the burning of thousands of acres of forest land, with all its included wildlife, and destroying many homes. The law says:

A conviction for each of the offenses charged in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.

In another case, a father killed a grizzly bear because he was afraid for the safety of his children and family. Now he faces these penalties if convicted:

The charge of killing a threatened species is punishable by up to a year in prison, a maximum fine of $50,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

So, if my math is correct, it is pretty much equally adverse to society if you kill a ferocious grizzly bear that is attempting to eat your family or burn homes, trees, animals, and anything else in the way because you were too lazy to put out your fire.